Ellis grinned at Evri as they reached the grand ornate doors of the cathedral. The stained glass windows were coated in a layer of frost. The lights inside filtered through the windows, dancing an array of colors on the blank snow that surrounded the building. Even outside of the cathedral, the building held an ethereal beauty around it. Among the the filth and scum of Zetski, the cathedral stood above it all offering comfort and inspiration. He turned and cast a smouldering look. He was ready to explain his living situation at the cathedral when a sudden cracking alerted his attention. His hair stood up on his arms as he turned to face the source. He was late, as ice entrapped Evridiki's leg. She was quick with a counter attack, a large fire ball shooting from her hand and landing it's mark an the larger male of the soldiers. Lights flashed around them as the ball made impact, causing the man to stumble backwards.
Evri charged the second before Ellis could warn her. Evri dropped like a sack of rocks, as Ellis flinched at the sight. Anger welled up inside of him as the bigger solider began charging a spell. "You're him, aren't you? Flightless." The man asked, curioisty in his face. The nickname was enough for him to inhale with pain, flash backs of his wings being stripped forming in his mind. The female archer, who was patting down Evri, stopped for a minute looking up as she spoke. "They say you ran ahead of your team. Put them all in danger as you charged forward. The reports say you were reckless and stupid. Ran right into a trap, poachers clipped your wings and were about to kill you too. If it wasn't for your back up, you'd be dead." She said, a cocky look in her eyes, the bigger male laughed, as he stepped forward. "Pathetic. You're a disgrace towards the service."
Ellis inhaled slowly, as he gesutered towards the ice spell forming in the man's hands. "You gonna shoot that spell, or not big guy?" The man, snorted. "Cocky little bastard." The man raised his arm and shot a ball of ice through the air. Ellis took a defensive postion and merely twitched his eye. The ball of ice exploded into smaller shards infront of him, the ice falling at his feet. The soliders were shocked, anger rising in the man's attitude He cast two more balls of ice, hurling towards Ellis. The outcome was the same. In the blink of eye the balls of ice burst infront of him, never hitting him. This time though, the woman who was knelt down patting down Evri fell from her postion with a surprised "Omph."
The magic was so fast it hard to place what had happen. If one was observant, you could see a small magic rift open up behind Ellis, a small arrow would rip through the air toward its target. Ellis didn't give away the gimmick, me merely grinned darkly as he started walking forward, his hand twitching as he summoned a ball of ice of his own. "Leave. Now. Or it will get worse." He warned, shooting the ball of ice inches away from the man's ear. The solider growled, cursing Ellis as he and his partner walked away.
He didn't move, as he watched the soliders walk down the steps until they were out of view. He turned back towards Evri who was grunting in pain. He knelt down beside her as he inspected the damage. The arrow was lodged in her collar. Blood trickled from the wound but it wasn't life threatening. "The archer was either a poor shot, or she was shaking when she let the arrow fly. It's an angle, so it's not too deep. You're gonna be fine. "He said, as unstrapped a knife that was concelled under his pant leg. Carefully, he cut the arrow at the shaft, leaving a small bit exposed as he helped Evri off the ground. He pointed towards the cathedral, and spoke with a hurry. "We'll go to the cathedral, I have a first aid kit there." He explained as they made their way to the door.
Ellis kicked the door open, leading Evri to a small table that sat many papers, empty tankards, and various little objects. He sweeped his hands across the table, knocking everything down and ordered Evridiki to sit. He rummaged through a small cabinet near the door and took out a box, the contents clattering against each other as he sat it down beside her. He dug through the box and retrieved a pair of tweezers and a dull scalper. He looked into Evri's red eyes with his own chilling blue eyes. She was no doubt angry about getting shot, and had plenty of questions.
He focused his attention on the arrow, the scalpel cutting a small incesion next to the arrow as he dug at the arrow tip with the twezzers. "I used to be a solider a few years ago." He said, solemnly. His voice was a soft, slow, and low as he worked carefully at Ellis's shoulder. "I was almost done with a term. Over three years I spent guarding the outskirts to the city. I cant even tell you how many bandits I've turned away thanks to me and bow." He said, passion in his voice. His eyes were open, as spoke of a distant memory. "The day I was discharged, there were scout reports of found poachers heading to the border. Naturally, me and six others were sent down to deal with it. It was supposed to be routine. Three go left. Two go right. Me and another would meet the poachers, stall them, and the flanking teams would arrive and drive them back."
Ellis spoke like he was reading a story, as he opened to Evridiki. "There was were two poachers in the trees with a weighted net. I didn't see it, until it was too late. The net fell on me, forcing me to the ground. My back up ran away, and…" His eyes closed on reflex, reliving the experiance. "I'll spare you the details, but I imagine you know what happened next." He said, nodding to his folded in wings. "Top brass had no longer need for me. Filed the reports as I was reckless and stupid. I was dumped here at the cathedral to heal. Months went by, and the sisters never asked me to leave. I help out where I can, but I kinda like it here. Secluded and distant from everyone else." He said, as he stepped away from Evri. He grabbed a near by cloth rag and balled it up. "Bite onto this. It'll be quick but intense." He warned. He pulled on the arrow with a sharp tug, the arrow leaving Evri's collar. He could hear the muffled screaming as he found a metal plate and dumped the arrow and instruments he used. "Arrows are funny. If you yank them out, they cause more damage going out than going in. Are you okay?"